Bill Gates says Microsoft is not interested in buying Nokia
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Microsoft CEO Bill Gates rejected on Thursday rumours that arise from time to time that Microsoft would be trying to acquire a major holding in Nokia.
"We usually do not comment on rumours, but I have not even ever heard that one", Gates said in Brussels.
Microsoft is virtually the only technology company that could even afford to try a takeover of Nokia, a company with a market value of more than EUR 60 billion. With cash reserves estimated at about EUR 25 billion, Microsoft could buy just under half of Nokia’s shares.
Gates noted that Nokia is an independent company that does "fine work". He observed that Nokia is a manufacturer of devices, and that there are areas in which Nokia and Microsoft duplicate work, and others in which the companies work in cooperation.
Nokia and Microsoft compete in mobile telephone software. Microsoft sells handset manufacturers its own Windows Mobile operating system, while Nokia uses either its own system, or software manufactured by Symbian, a competitor of Microsoft.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen met with Gates on Thursday in Brussels to discuss a key topic of the Finnish EU Presidency - innovation.
Vanhanen focused on the projects known as European technology platforms, the most advanced of which is the Artemis project, in which companies seek ways to benefit from information technology in everyday situations.
Vanhanen also informed Gates of developments in the European Institute of Technology (EIT), which models itself after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.
Vanhanen had no concrete results to report from the discussions. Microsoft is part of the Artemis discussions, and the company is also following the progress of EIT.
"I listened with interest to how Matti Vanhanen is committed to promoting innovation", Gates said after the meeting.
In his comments Vanhanen was somewhat critical about what he sees as inadequate technological progress in Europe. "We invest heavily in education, and the financing of research and product development is growing, but for some reason, investments do not give rise to successful companies, new products, or good jobs. This is a problem to which European innovation policy needs to find an answer."
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 10.11.2006 - TODAY |
 Bill Gates says Microsoft is not interested in buying Nokia
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